Project Description

MAMA COCHA

Seeing a child and their family turn the corner and become a family after months of therapy and support to help them learn to love their children, to see them actually accepting and loving them. It’s a special thing.
Suzy Butler, Founder of Kiya Survivors

AFTER SCHOOL LIFE SKILLS WORKSHOP

The Mama Cocha centre, based in Los Organos, Piura, in Northern Peru, was built and opened in 2008 with the help of Copenhagen International School (CIS). It was originally a home for children with special needs living in vulnerable situations, but changed direction after it’s service users were successfully re-integrated back in to their family homes, in 2015.

Now, the home runs as an after school Skills Workshop Program for young people with learning difficulties, disabilities and from high risk environments who need somewhere safe to come in the afternoons whilst their parents work, and to encourage them to begin the all important steps towards living independently, integrating into their community and families by learning basic life skills, as well as doing plenty of fun activities!

A qualified teacher ensures the life skills group do a diverse range of activities:

Life skills including: cleaning, making beds, washing and shopping

Personal hygiene

Arts and crafts

Gardening

Play

Homework club

Cooking

The Mama Cocha Life Skills Programme continues to receive funding from CIS and they continue to visit the project every 2 years.

The Centre consists of 3 large rooms for workshops and emergency housing, a lounge, a kitchen, 2 bathrooms where the children and young people can take a warm shower and open spaces in which to run around.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMES

In 2008 we built an extended project area next to the home where we now run a number of programmes aimed at supporting the community and encouraging independence.

Early Stimulation and Physiotherapy

We believe that by encouraging parents to give their babies regular stimulation, communication aids (sign) and positive touch (massage), we will help cut down the number of abuse cases, encourage and promote bonding between parent and baby, help the baby reach their full potential in the years to come and encourage them to feel confident and respected by their parents and community.

We currently support 45 children per week with this vital programme, which over the years has attracted the attention of the community and has increased the number of children and mothers benefiting from it.

We provide Early Stimulation through our Tres Pasitos Programme and our Physiotherapist who has worked with Kiya Survivors for 12 years now and provides an invaluable service to many children and their families. She runs baby massage sessions; physiotherapy for the children in Tres Pasitos and therapy programs to older children in need in the community. Her services have changed many lives.

The Tres Pasitos Project

The Tres Pasitos project was set up to offer much needed support to under 3s in need of early stimulation who are from severely poverty stricken areas and who’s parents are unable to afford getting help elsewhere.

Many of the children attending this program come from abusive and neglectful backgrounds and the majority suffer from health problems such as chronic diarrhea, dehydration, skin irritations and stomach cramps caused by unsanitary living conditions.

20% of the children who attend the program, also have special needs.

The Team

We have Teachers; Classroom Assistants; volunteers; Psychologist & Project Director working with the children organizing fun workshops designed to address 3 main points: Emotional Well Being, Cognitive Processing and Body Stimulation. As well as the key ideas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

With freedom to explore, time to observe and our gentle guidance and encouragement, a child’s natural curiosity will develop into the ability to wonder at the world. This is an incredible development in a young child’s life. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when it happens, unless you are looking for it. The child will show a growing sense of love and care for the environment, and will naturally start to do things to protect it. The child will show a deeper interest in why things happen and how things work and also display a greater sense of independence. At this stage, a young child has absorbed so much of what is going on around her and is curious to discover so much more.

Tres Pasitos is a fully funded project through our long term sponsors, The Sorrell Foundation.

Mama Café

Mama Café was designed for Mothers to come and have a safe and open space to share their knowledge, concerns and news about their home life. There are guided discussions with our Psychologist and Social Worker along with other local professionals to help guide them in areas such as breastfeeding, domestic violence etc. With abuse cases forever rising in the area, the need for Mums to know that they’re not alone and have support is vital.

Mama Cafe also runs a variety of workshops to encourage learnin of new skills that can lead Mums to finding their independence and gaining employment or starying their own business. The centre has its own Mama Café shop where the mums sell bookmarks, key rings and other items that they learn to make in the artisan workshops and we have a bread oven where we run baking and cake making workshops weekly.

Three Mums have already left these workshops and gone on to start their own businesses with the aid of a Kiya mobile cart!

Parent School

The Parents’ school is an opportunity for both Mothers and Fathers to get helpful advice on special needs, on how to care for their children and informative tips on improving relationships in the home and in the community.

OUR TEAM

The team at Mama Cocha consists of:

House Mum

Teacher

Speech and Physiotherapist

Psychologist

Social Worker

Watchman

They are all local professionals who are working unbelievably hard and making a huge difference to young peoples lives. There is also a Project Director who oversees the Centre and who has been working with us for 12 years now.

CHANGE A LIFE TODAY

A young life can be positively impacted by even the smallest of gestures. Do something wonderful today and change a life for the better.